In February and March 2009, teachers modified existing curricula to make use of the analytic framework of key questions and core concepts, and designed and implemented short media literacy units. The final school-wide meeting scheduled in March, which included a parent workshop and a session for faculty to share experiences with projects delivered and lessons learned.
After three months: A diamond in the rough
When the media literacy units had been completed and the data collected, it became clear that Hathaway Brown had brought many strengths to the task of implementing the program. From the board, to the head of school, associate head, and key personnel, all had lent their time and expertise to ensure its success. Support was also forthcoming from parents, who actively participated in an educational session held for them. Many teachers responded enthusiastically to the challenge of adapting their curricula to facilitate acquisition of media literacy skills, and students actively engaged with the new lessons, reacting positively to their experiences and letting their thoughts and feelings be known.
The ways in which the leadership of Hathaway Brown conceptualized and structured learning at the school also became an asset to the implementation. Sadler is a vigorous proponent of the “systems” approach to instruction evoked by the framework, and school officials have begun to explore possibilities for integrating the school’s media literacy program with programs at the 13 interdisciplinary centers which comprise the Institute for 21st Century Learning, such as the Center for Girls’ and Women’s Leadership and the Science Research and Engineering Program.
Time pressures were a constraining factor in the implementation process. Though planning for the launch of the project had been extensive, the implementation itself was relatively short in duration. An expanded schedule would have facilitated adoption of the CML framework across all subject areas in the Upper School, afforded greater opportunities for peer coaching, and allowed more time for individual teachers to internalize the process of using the Five Key Questions to teach critical thinking skills.
Training teachers in media literacy instruction without reference to specific underlying content was also something of a strategic experiment for Hathaway Brown. Success has already been demonstrated with training teachers in teaching media literacy skills with a common curriculum. For example, a UCLA longitudinal evaluation of the CML violence prevention curriculum Beyond Blame: Challenging Violence in Media (2006) revealed that middle school students of teachers who were trained for one day were more likely to mitigate their media consumption, reduce their aggression, and agree that media violence may cause adverse effects. The introduction of a common curriculum could possibly have lessened the challenges of first-time training of faculty in media literacy teaching methods, because the faculty would have a model to follow.
“We’re building on the foundation that we’ve laid,” Sadler said. “Plans for the 2010-2011 academic year include grade-level media literacy classes at fourth and seventh grades, and full integration of media literacy skills into the school’s existing health curriculum .”
“Embedding media literacy into the curriculum and more importantly, into the habits of mind of our students is a multi-year process, but Hathaway Brown is a school with a mission: We learn not for school but for life .”
For more information, visit Hathaway Brown and the Center for Media Literacy.
Tessa Joll is President and CEO of the Center for Media Literacy, a position she has held since 1999. Her primary focus is working in partnership to design and implement school and community-based implementation programs for media literacy education.
- Children learn best on paper: We need better technology, not less of it - July 13, 2026
- In districts, reaching readiness, retention, and success - March 5, 2026
- AI use is on the rise, but is guidance keeping pace? - January 2, 2026